What to Do When You Don’t Like Some of the Colours in Your Palette?

Have you had a personal colour analysis and don’t like some of the colours that are in your palette? This is something that can happen to any of us for a number of reasons.

The colours are different to what you’re used to (or have been wearing the rest of your life)

There are colours you just don’t like (there is usually a reason – school uniform, someone who you didn’t like wore it all the time and you associate it with them, you were brought up to believe that some colours are more beautiful and others are ugly)

They just don’t feel like you

Of course, you have the option that if you truly don’t like them, don’t wear them! In this podcast episode with Jill Chivers of Shop Your Wardrobe – we discuss tips on learning to love your colours.

But say you want to think about embracing these new colours – how can you go about it?

Life Changes Bring New Colours into Your Life

Maybe you don’t associate those colours with yourself as you’ve been wearing different colours and so it can feel like a big shock and a whole new mindset to embrace a new palette. Change is easier for some, and harder for others and can take a lot of time to really embrace.

It can take time to adjust your perceptions of colours, and it’s as you see yourself in these new colours over time that this happens. This is one of the benefits of taking an outfit photo – to give yourself an objective view of the colours on you and how your skin reacts – do you look more healthy and the focus? Do the colours harmonize with you? Are you the focus, rather than the colour you’re wearing?

If you hate the entire palette? What to do?

Reflect on the reason? When you start to have a conversation about the reasons and see are they still valid for you today? They might be some of the reasons I’ve mentioned above, or something completely different. There is no right or wrong, just the way you think and feel about the colours. If you’re open to changing your mind – here are some tips.

Find it in nature

Is there a colour that you dislike that you can find in nature that you find beautiful – maybe this will help you see it in a new way with fresh eyes? Notice how the colours combine and form a gorgeous colour scheme – maybe you can replicate this in an outfit or with an accessory?

Do an emotional exercise

Improve the feeling aspect of those colours – find the positives, what do I appreciate about the colours (that you don’t currently like).

Buy an inexpensive item in that colour that you normally wouldn’t go for. When it works well with the rest of your wardrobe it may help you see it with new eyes and appreciate this colour.

Notice the Compliments

Wear the colour and see if others notice that the colours suit you. Very frequently, if you’ve been wearing lots of black (and that’s a colour that doesn’t suit you) you’ll start getting compliments as others see you looking more vibrant and alive (rather than the drained and dull complexion that black so easily gives us). This can help to make your feelings towards these new colours feel more positive.

Accept the Effects of Aging on Your Colouring

Yes, this has got to be the hardest thing. As we age our colouring softens down, and if you’ve had a lifetime of wearing bright colours and find that they just aren’t working as well for you now as they used to, it can be hard to let go of these old ideas and move to your new palette. It’s something that will happen over time (Jill and I have talked about it here). Remember that your new palette is designed to make you look fabulous today and isn’t that what you really want? As much as my age shocks me (when did I get so old?), I’d also rather be old than the alternative (that is, no longer around), and so it helps me embrace my ageing body and colouring.

Yes, our colouring changes throughout our lives and it’s important to readjust your palette ever decade or so (depending on where you are in your ageing process) or when you’ve made a radical hair colour change, to ensure that the colours are highlighting your beauty rather than distracting from it. This is why I do a personal colour analysis as part of my 7 Steps to Style program to help you discover the colours that flatter you today.

3 Comments

Your thoughts and ideas about the use of color always encourage and inspire me, Imogen!!
I loved wearing neutrals for the first half of my life and find neutrals no longer flattering in the second (and Best) part of my life. With your help I am determined to bring more color into my wardrobe….I just have to work at it! Best place to start is with your archives.

When I had my colours done many years ago I thought I can’t possibly wear bright purple! Surely I’ve been coloured wrong! So I took the consultants advice about starting out with affordable t-shirts in my new colours to experiment with. Well, once the compliments came rolling in from men and women I was converted! Now bright purple is my favourite colour and I simply can’t go past it in any shape or form! Cheers, Lynda

Thank you, Imogen. Before, I was brunette and weared pink and salmon. Now I am grey (silver foxette). I have a cardigan in old pink . In the mirror I see that it matches perfectly, my family confirms. And I still hate it… So your post comes at exactly the right time.
Greets from Europe
Maggie